NGO Environmental Action Germany (DUH), Dutch cooperative Mobilisation for the Environment, and citizens’ initiative Clean Air East Frisia Friday filed a lawsuit in the Court of Justice in The Hague challenging planned gas drilling in the Dutch North Sea.

The Dutch government has approved plans by Dutch exploration and production company ONE-Dyas to develop a gas field 1.5 kilometers from the German maritime border and within the vicinity of the Wadden Sea, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and multiple Natura 2000, “the largest coordinated network of protected areas in the world,” areas.

Federal Managing Director of DUH, Sascha Müller-Kraenner, stated:

The plans have nothing to do with energy security: A small amount [up to 13 billion cubic meters] of fossil gas is to be extracted from 2024 at the earliest. On the other hand, the construction of a new platform in the North Sea creates a new infrastructure that will further increase our long-term dependence on fossil energy. This is incompatible with the climate goals. That’s why we go to court together with our partners. New gas drilling in the immediate vicinity of the Wadden Sea National Park has completely fallen out of time.

German islands of Juist, Norderney and Borkum have also jointly filed a suit against the project.